On occasion, someone asks me how long I have been involved in the trucking industry. I often say “42 years.” I get an odd look, but I then explain that I literally grew up around the industry and that my father and grandfather built successful trucking companies. As a young boy, I would often go to work with my father and rather than let me play, he would put me to work. It goes back as far as I can remember, so I suspect he was breaking some child labor law that was on the books back in the 1980s.
But I didn’t care; I loved every minute of it and I was proud to show my dad that I would grow up to be just like him one day. I spent time in the parts department, maintenance, janitorial, dispatching trucks, dealing with driver issues, repowering loads, working on the computer systems, selling, marketing – really everything short of driving a truck. He would even have me attend executive meetings with key vendors, bankers, and even a board meeting or two. When I was eight years old, I negotiated a multi-million dollar truck deal; but I suspect that I was just repeating things my dad had told me to say.
My story is likely familiar to thousands of others in the trucking industry. After all, trucking is a family business. The business provides a good living for families, but the work is hard. Trucking entrepreneurs want their kids to build on their legacy and are proud to have them involved. For me there is nothing more exciting than smelling a new truck or the rubber from a new set of tires. It brings back fond memories of my childhood and how I was able to watch my father turn dedication into a successful enterprise.
In early March, FreightWaves turned four years old. While most startups tend to fail in the first four years, we were too busy to even remember the significance of our birthday, much less celebrate it. In that short period of time, FreightWaves has become the dominant media and information platform for the North American freight market. While we’ve enjoyed great financial success as a result of the products we have created, I am most proud of how we have created a level of transparency and awareness of everything that is happening in this dynamic and massively important industry.
The trucking/logistics/supply chain industries are having a massive renaissance. Technology, decarbonization, automation and digitization are shaping the future of society. The next decade will be the most exciting in the history of logistics and we are honored to be a trusted partner as you navigate the future. A venture capital investor once told me that the greatest impact we’ve had on the industry is that we’ve helped to make the broader world aware of how sexy and exciting freight and logistics truly is.
Thank you for being part of the FreightWaves community. This is the most exciting time in our industry to-date, and it is our pleasure to be your partner and resource as you navigate the future.
Scott
Craig,
I would love to see your opinions on how this renaissance will transform the trucking/logistics industry.
As a new trucker, I was shocked, and a little dismayed, at how little technology and data is leveraged to decrease downtime and increase efficiencies.
Every shipper, receiver and transport company are all independently monitoring their own individual parts. Integration of all these parts could better manage resources like equipment and labor, to provide a real world “just on time” deliverable of those resources, decreasing downtime and increasing profits for everyone.
Now, someone much more smarter than myself will have to device such a system, but I think with current technology, we are close!
Rich M
Some trucking executives would NEVER dare soil their shoes walking the yard; heavens forbid if they stepped on an oily spot. Many couldn’t point to the 5th wheel and say they know what it’s for. If they managed to get up into the cab, they wouldn’t know what to do to make the truck go.
On the other hand, there are many trucking company owners who literally grew up doing everything in the office, the yard, the shop, AND in the trucks. Their dads, grandpas, and even some moms, wouldn’t let them near the owner’s desk until they knew everything about the operation. Those are the people with trucking in their blood.
Tcs53
Craig, you’re delusional! If you say that you’ve been in trucking 42 years and never driven a truck, you don’t have a clue. I would ask you why. Why haven’t you ever driven a truck? Scared? Too good? Don’t want to get dirty? Got better things to do? You would think at some point in 42 years you would haul your sorry ass up behind that sexy steering wheel, grab it with both hands and start jamming gears. No wait, nowadays most new trucks are automatic. There you go,hammer down big boy. Remember “The road goes on forever and the party never ends” Enjoy your sexy bad back,neck,numbness in your hands. Can’t wait to tell my wife how sexy I feel when it takes me about an hour to stand up straighten the morning.
Real_trucker
Trucking is “sexy”? Haha, since when? When you’re driving a desk in a suit a tie, take a cut of 10+ drivers load pay every day, while you get to go home every night and wear cucumber eye softeners and cotton spacers between your newly manicured nails and be with your family. You can smoke up a reefer everyday and drink some chardonnay at lunch, no ones drug testing you or waiting to catch you to ruin your career. You”re not in the trucking industry preppy boy. You dont get to say that. You’re a pencil pusher using the trucking industry..
Trucking is not “sexy” in any way shape or form. Pi$$ing in bottle, taking showers in the sink, brushing teeth in the cab or public bathrooms. Basically its like being homeless and in prison at the same time.
Then we get to deal with rude drivers all day long, hard weather, then all the unfair and unreasonable dot regs with barely any research to back their numbers, dirty cops out to ruin truckers days, speed traps, weigh stations, inspections, medical exams, drug testing all the time and just microscope scrutiny all around.
We do all this then you see some broker, like you, brokering frieght and paying the trucker $2000 to haul and the broker is raking in $3000 just to sit at his desk and yak on the phone. Its like a kick to the groin, or as you call it “sexy”.
Mark “ Stik “ Stikkel
After my stint in the USCG , and having had diesel mechanic training , I started working on over the road tractors and trailers in 1980 as a 20 year old .
I welded , did road service work and that included tire work without air impact tools on Dayton style wheels .
I got my commercial license to drive at age 24 .
I have been a driver ever since ; and the last 33 years as a freight hauler in some city P & D but mostly Line Haul .
It saddens me to see the lack of
“ work ethic “ in this transportation industry .
Mechanics not taking pride in their work , drivers not performing proper pre- trip and post – trip inspections .
Most of all management and their lack of leadership and communication with the employees that come to work on a day in and day out basis .
We all have so much responsibility to the motoring public we share the roads with and this profession has , in my opinion , lowered its expectations and now it’s standards on what it used to be when more pride was expected and actually was for the most part given …
Mark stack
Wow here we go again. Yes I can have respect for starting out as a kid in your father’s or grandfather’s business. Trucking has definitely gone sour as far as people and safety. Now we have people who don’t like driving a truck but need a job because they flunked out everything else. The code of ethics has gone in the toilet along with appearance. Now we have digital this and that to micro management everything . People who thing they know what is best for everyone. Trucking has way to many variables that there is a one sid e answer for everything. We have Trucking schools who don’t give students enough time to learn practical driving and movements of backing etc. They don’t suck it up if they hit another vehicle no we run. We have self insurance for mega carriers with that they can hire anybody and can absorb stupidity. We now have an eld that is the most dangerous piece to ever come about . But we still have the same old cat and mouse game with brokers and cops. Now we have people calling us or email us to gather DATA on how they can make a difference on the new wave of trucking . When is all the garbage going to stop and people suck it up and just do the job with pride and respect. The way it was 44 years ago. Quit the micro management have schools do it right its about being safe and going home to our families not all the other bs….the true brotherhood needs to come back
Scott
I wonder why you did everything but drive a truck. Maybe you were shielded from the common man. If you never did the job you can never understand how much we sacrifice for a paycheck. Yet the paycheck is just enough to keep us driving.
You speak of family but would your family ever subject you to the conditions we endure to feed OUR FAMILIES. I think not .
Your family is rich off the backs of OUR families shame on you
Michael Kopp
F%#! Your technology it’s ruining the industry! It’s going to make it so much better “sexy” I believe you used BS …. get your facts straight . You have been told.
Spencer
Very good article and yes I to have been in this industry for 43 years my father raised my brother’s and I doing exactly the same as you.I have been in the Logistics business for 40 years and have sons that are also in the business.It is very much a family business but I have noticed in the past 10 years there are more and more people getting in the business that have no idea about actually doing any trucking they only know what they are told .This includes some executives from some big conglomerates that start up digital brokerages it’s just a numbers game to them now I have no issue with anyone making a dollar but please don’t tell the world you are experts in logistics you are experts in computer technology.